Monday, February 27, 2012

Look at me! Big words!!! Dichotomy! (Don't be TOO impressed, I made sure to Google it to make sure I had the meaning correct.)

When the running gods giveth, the running gods taketh away
As I'm coming up on my 5th year seriously running, I've learned quite a few things. Some from fancy RRCA certified coaching books and others from pounding the pavement. Things like: People riding bikes will rarely waive at you, I scare the crap out of dog walkers when it is 5:00am and I'm huffing and puffing like the Victoria's Secret fashion show is on, and if there is even a VERY small chance that I have to "go" pre-run - I wait it out. One of the things that is only recently becoming clear is that very often, good runs and bad runs come in pairs.

This was never more apparent during this weekend's run and today's run. (Both with my new Garmin 910! I believe the 'kids' say "Squeeeee". Or wait is it "squeeege"? Probably squeege.) On Sunday, the Garmin had a bit of an issue with instant pace so I ran the run a bit fast. 18 miles in 2h 14min (7:26 pace) fast. It was completely effortless. One of those days that you grabbed the unicorn horn and rode him all the way home. However, this morning I realized I wrote a check that my ass training plan couldn't cash. 10 miles that were a complete suffer fest. My legs were completely empty of any kick. What was yin on Sunday was yang on Monday. Damn you Dichotomy.

But, on Sunday I knew that when I saw the 10th or 12th 7:20 mile click by on my watch, I was in for a hurt on Monday. Live and learn.

In fact, while the yin and yang of my two training runs above is pretty expected, I've actually found that it is also the case for my marathons. Regardless if I am cranking away for a PR or just easy running a race, it seems that good and bad races come in pairs. Surprisingly, it isn't always the first one. Check the trend below. Up/down/up/down. Good/bad/good/bad.

Does anyone else suffer from a kick-ass good run hangover the next day? Push just a bit too hard and feel crappy on the next one?

Bonus! Mystery surprise on my foot
Since I know people love these...... while I was running this morning, I felt a bit of a pinch and poke** on my foot. I knew the feeling - something was digging into the side of my toe. Turns out, it was my other toenail!

Friday, February 24, 2012

Just a quick update today because I've got too many things to do for a gorgeous 80 degree day. This morn I did my first set of intervals (6x800 at 5K pace) in prep for a 5K that I'm planning on running in 2 weeks. How fast were the intervals? I have no idea. How long did I go for each 800? I have no idea. My (old) Garmin dropped GPS 3 times during the run. It wasn't a fun "naked" run where I run carefree with the wind wisping my golden locks - it was more of one of those dreams where you are giving a speech in your underwear and everyone is laughing at the "Visitors Welcome" imprint on your crotch.

So, while I got a little (a lot) of flack from my wife for buying a new Garmin, I'm not sorry I did. It comes on Wednesday!
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It seems like people get away with a lot of things in the office that would not stand at home. Not flushing to toliet (or shitting all over the seat??? Who does that?), leaving dishes in the sink for ages, or helping yourself to someone else's secret stash of office candy. Well, some people decided to take to the printer and vent a little frustrations. Happy Friday!

This is exactly why I not only lick all of the food before I put it in the fridge.....but I also ensure I have no more faith in mankind to lose.

"Ladies, The Science fair is over now, please dispose of your living organisms and wash your dishes"

Oh nerdy IT guys, how I love you.

Fell on the floor for 10 seconds!? Way to have those cat like reflexes, dude.

Finally, just a quick bonus picture of some hilarious mother / daughter interaction on Facebook. I love the fact that the daughter called her out on the cross post to twitter - hilarious! Happy Friday!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Never one to jump on TOO many bandwagons at once (anyone want to buy a used pet rock?) I haven’t fully embraced the three things Thursday post. However, when I’ve got topics, you get bullets. Enjoy!

Garmin 910
With my Garmin 305 tucking itself nighty night in a warm state of hibernation - prepping to shit the bed (buttons working 3/4 of the time, dropping satellite) I knew that it was time to get something new. So, like I teased a few days ago, this morning I finally bought a new Garmin. Since I don’t buy a lot of things for myself that you can’t drink, this is a big deal. Review to come shortly.

Going long makes me feel gooood
I’m finally getting back into the swing of a good rhythm with my running. Yesterday during a easy recovery 6, I realized – I feel a LOT better mentally when I run near the peak of my training cycle. For me, that is somewhere near 70 miles per week. I take great satisfaction in knowing that I’m extending myself to the near limits of what I can withstand day in and day out. Now, to be clear, I’m not one of those mileage snobs that rants and raves about how "ohhh, I'm on day 57 of no showers, garmin free runs, and 20+ milers per day". A year ago my max mileage was 45 miles per week and it nearly killed me. Running distance, just like speed and how pregnant you are, “Well, I’m sort of pregnant” is completely relative. If you're running 20 miles per week and that makes you feel right as rain? Giggity Giggity.

10% Rule? That’s for smart runners
Now, just because I feel better mentally when I run higher mileage, that doesn’t mean that my body is all that much of a fan. Running is sort of like being on meth that way. Good for the mind, hell on the teeth body. Unfortunately, due to my “lack” of time before my next big race (Eugene marathon) I’m ignoring the traditional 10% increase in miles per week and bumping it up anywhere between 20-25% per week. In the last month, I’ve ran 24 (Knee injury), 43, 53, and this week will be 63. I’m doing fine, but my body is SORE making the adjustment. My right shin, hamstring, and glute are usually pretty sore midrun until my body figures out that we are indeed not stopping and should just go with the flow.

Lent – Can’t I just give up my new year’s resolutions?
There are few topics that I don’t speak of on the blog. With the 28 hour per day news cycle, I figure that politics and religion are pretty well covered. That said, this time of year people generally give up something for Lent and I’m at a loss for what to give up. Of course, when I mentioned this to my wife, she was all too quick to mention more than a handful of things that I could quit doing. I told her to stay out of my wheelhouse thanked her ever so much for her valuable feedback but comforted her that I had this one under control. Truth be told, I don’t – but I can’t admit that to her. What should I give up?

Pee Dot
Like I said, the reason why me actually buying the new Garmin is such a big deal is because I don’t buy a lot of running gear for myself. Running shorts are the worst offender. In fact, I still wear “running” shorts (read: basketball shorts, random whatever shorts) that I’ve had since high school – THIRTEEN YEARS AGO. Anyway, this morning I came to the conclusion that if I were to buy running shorts I can no longer buy ANY gray ones. You see, this morning during my 11 mile run, I was about a mile from home and I had obviously done a great job of hydrating. I had to go. Holding it for the few minutes seemed to be the best option until the urge became just a bit too overwhelming. One thing lead to another and two drops of liquid created a perfectly visible damp circle on my shorts. Lovely.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Today I had probably the best run in more than a few weeks. Because of my 8 mile tempo fail the day before, I made my 13 mile run today into a progression run. That is, I'd warm up and then run miles in groups of progressively faster pace. Warm up 6, then 3 @ MP (7:10ish), 3 at half marathon pace (6:30ish), & 1 at 10K pace (6:10ish).

These kinds of runs are not only a really good workout for your legs (you're plenty warmed up before you really start hitting the speed) but they're also a really good mental workout. They teach you to dig deep and continue to get faster when you're already getting tired. You know, sort of like holding pace during the last 6 miles of a marathon when the going gets REALLY tough?

Anyway, the actual run was closer to 6 warm up, 3 @ 7:03, 3 @ 6:35, 1 @ 6:19. Things were getting a little rough towards the end, but I am SO glad that I finished it out. Things really seemed to be clicking today. Just like in golf, not all runs are good ones, but I get just enough good ones to keep on plugging away. Boy, I needed a good one today.

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Recently, I was talking to a good friend about how people are just "that guy/gal". They post a million pictures of ONE THING: Their kid, the food they eat, what color their poop was, etc. I 100% agree that it gets a little repetitive after a while. So, in that same spirit, here are like 10 pictures of my kid. :)

Yesterday, I wanted to replace the wallpaper on my phone with an updated picture. Little did I know that getting a picture of my son was going to be a 10 minute ordeal. Below are a series of pictures in the same order as they were taken and what I assume my son was thinking while I was snapping.

Awwww dad, SERIOUSLY? Another picture!?!?

Ok, I'm going to sit still for like 2 nanoseconds and then.....

Yay fun phone camera! Gimmie gimmie gimmie!!

Oh look! Something over here that I need to touch and maybe put in my mouth

You want what? You want me to look at you? Ok, fine. I'm right HERE!!!!

[Editors note: I'm not even sure what this little devilish smile is for....]

Yeah, if you want a good picture, you're going to have to corral me and hold on tight.

Shortly after that picture was taken, he proceeded to continue running around the house like is hair was on fire dragging his toy popper. Make no mistake, being a 14 month old would be sweeeeet.

Monday, February 20, 2012

I’m a pretty progressive guy. I think that women can burn their bras as much as they want and men should wear pink. However, with my wife being a stay at home mom, there are certain things that it just isn’t possible for me to do (or, at least certainly not practical). I try to make up for that fact by doing a lot of the household duties that my wife either doesn’t have time for or doesn’t like to do. Regrettably, a lot of these fall into the “man” category: Cat calling the neighbors as they drive by, taking out the trash, cleaning the pool, and doing the yardwork. Unfortunately that last one, a full Sunday afternoon of yard work, really seems to be cramping my running style. Seriously, life is getting in the way of my running!
Today I had 8 miles on my schedule. A tempo run with 5 miles at 6:20 pace (6:20 pace is nearly 10K pace, so the reality is that 4 miles was much more likely). When I woke up I was SORE in my hamstrings and my glutes. Stupid weed pulling in my front yard (Which, ironically isn’t a new “medicinal” medicine the kids are trying) really stretched out the back of my legs to the point of exhaustion. I knew that hitting tempo miles was going to be tough but was going to give it a shot. Of course, when I got out there I had a hard time holding “warm up” pace. The thought of dropping the pace by almost 2 min per mile made me groan in mental frustration so I just ran the rest of the miles at a “normal” pace and called it a day.

The reality is that until I win the lottery or can afford a hot pool/lawn girl Quasimoto looking pool/lawn boy I’m going to have to do those kinds of things. I can’t let life get in the way of my passion – but at the same time, shouldn’t use it as an excuse to not get in the miles. So, I got my 8 miles in and will adjust my schedule slightly to get some quality speed work in tomorrow. Flexibility is key, even if that means turning a 13 mile run into a speed session.

The moral of the story? I’m a big wuss and doing simple yard work makes me sore. Seriously, that’s all I’ve got on this one.

Anyone else have issues with their job or life duties getting in the way?

Friday, February 17, 2012

Forgot to set my alarm this AM and only got 7 miles in instead of 12. I must have needed the sleep because I was tired even after I woke up. It was one of those runs that at mile 6 I thought to myself, "I am NOT going to look good in a bikini this summer if I keep eating candy at work" "Wow, my legs are REALLY tired, another 5 miles would have been a struggle" But, I got them in - and will just make up the others on Sunday. Cest La Vie!

I live in a very suburban area. I can't pee in my front yard without splashing on an Applebees or some nosey neighbor calling the cops saying that I am being "indecent".

It seems like there are a few rights of passage with living in the suburbs and having a family: Perfecting my socks with sandals and jean shorts while mowing the lawn look and getting some of those stick family stickers to put on the back of my car/mini van/SUV.

There are all kinds to show your individuality: Skater families, skull families, and even runner families. Of course, leave it to some smart ass to take these to the next level (why didn't I think of these??) with stick families that are funny enough that I might even consider them. CONSIDER. Happy Friday!

Hey, zombies need to show their family love too!

The only thing that could make this better is......well, actually this is pretty damn good.

I can't decide if this was indeed a crazy cat lady or if someone meant this as a joke. Either way - Hilarious.

I'll take freaking funny with a side of depression please.

Finally, I suppose we've all had THOSE days. Those kinds of days when you just want everyone to leave you alone. While, I'm not sure that this would do it, it would certainly show that you have given up on SOMETHING. Happy Friday!

This is a duplicate post. If you've already read it, ignore! (Even after 1,040 blog posts, even I can make mistakes about how I post blogs....)

Because of computers, when you run an in person race, no sooner than grabbing your medal and wiping the snot off of your face, you can log on to see your instant chip timed race results. Running my virtual Freeze Your Thorns Off 5K is essentially the same way if by “instant” you mean “3 weeks”. What I lack in speed, I make up for with good looks.....endowment... prizes! Sweet sweet prizes. So, since I only have 5 of them, there are going to be 295 annoyed people and 5 people who love me to death. Who says you can’t buy friends?! (Prize winners at the bottom)

Overall the FYTO5K response was larger than I could ever have hoped. I feel that there is a real thirst for virtual races right now – they are free, fun, and a great way to generate some motivation to get out the door and run FAST. There were 293 people signed up and I received 169 race entries – amazing. Part of what took me so long to get the results out was that I did go through and read every single race report that was sent my way. I figure that it is the least I could do. If you posted a picture of yourself, you should expect to see it here! If you don’t see your results in the table below, let me know and I can get them added for sure.

(On a bit of a serious note....) What my irreverent little virtual race lacked in seriousness, SUAR’s Run for Sherry made up for in everything that runners stand for: Compassion, organization, and a true drive to get out on the roads. Well that, and she got her freaking results posted ON TIME. Kuddos to Beth for putting that together for her Cousin. May she rest in peace knowing that she brought thousands of runners together doing something that she enjoyed.

That said, without further ado, here is the results summary – thank you all so much for participating!

Ray @ Running in a world of pink scheduled a run w/ his church buddies - and 23 people showed up!!!! But, they forgot a camera. So, I stole this picture from an earlier post on his blog. Let's all assume that all of the people running around him are not actually running a Half marathon, but running FYTO.

Christine ran the race 17 days POST BABY!! I mean, I'm not sure that is exactly what the Doctor ordered, buuuuut, it is still pretty kick-ass(also, I think that 90% of my female readers hate her for looking so go post baby)

Good Running Habits ran with spikes on so she didn't fall. She ended up running her son's paper route with papers that weighed 27 kilos. I'm not sure of the conversion, but I'm almost positive that it means that she carried 790 pounds of papers.She's looking for jobs as a Sherpa

Julie did hers in the TRUE spirit of the FREEZE your throrns off - with a team of sled dogs!

Or, maybe just in the snow with her normal dogs. Either way

Running in Boise SAID that she froze, but she was indoors. Hmmmm - at least she looked good in the compression socks!

Sam ran in ZERO degrees (c) - although, she did say that she was too lazy to print the bib off. I'll let it slide, THIS time.

Loreleig not only ran the virtual race, but included it as her FIRST EVER post! I'd like to think that means I'm spreading the herps blog fever, one virtual race at a time.

Mitch decided he wasn't a #1 kind of a guy and thought that he was 3.14x as good as everyone else. (Those might be my words and not his)

Jenny proves that the Appalachian mountains are what we should all be jealous of

Mike did a fun trail run after volunteering to help clear the trail. Not to be one to be content with a NORMAL race, he decided to do some bridge hopping as well. (And take pictures of SuperKate in compromising positions)

Daniel ran in honor of his father who is fighting cancer....as well as perfected the self shot photo

Jamie ran it as part of another freeze series called the Freezeroo. Love it!!

Fortunately, she was able to stay on her feet... Umm.... not everyone was (as seen on her run:

J didn't post a race report, but I found this picture on her blog and for some reason cracked up. Let that be a lesson, if you don't post a race report, I'll troll your blog for other random pictures and post them!

Michael too decided that he wasn't #1, and instead went with 1850 - and blacked out the faces of my freezer dudes!

Laura ran hers as part of a Chocolate 10K

Rose set a MONSTER PR and decided that 5Ks suck - but I can tell is totally going to try to beat her time

Joanna ran on a SUPER sunny day

Tracy said that she dressed like a "homeless person hovering over a barrel fire". Those really were her words, not mine

Mike K represented the race WELL. I get cold just looking at him.

TriMOEngr ran on a bright windy day

Andrew Opala had a bit of a cracked foot issue which caused him to run a rather strange route. Check it out:

Miranda did the race RIGHT. Not only did she run in the cold, but there might have been a bit of pregaming with bloody marys followed by some hipster beer:

Mmmmm, tastes like skinny jeans....

Miranda had the BEST.RUN.EVER. So, that is good

Connie bundled up JUST enough to make sure that nothing froze off

Jess said that she about blew away, but at least looked good doing it!

Jen ran with her dog and got REALLY splattered by him kicking up mud all over her legs/thighs. But, that didn't slower her down running 5 miles in 45 min!

The Craft Chick got out there and hammered out a great time! (get it, crafts? Hammers? har har)

Christine has a goal to run a race each month like I do. 1 down, 11 to go!Hope you hurry - Feb is 1/2 over!!

I still don't know how people do this, but Rebecca was pushing a LOT more weight than normal with her stoller! This is the biggest stroller I've ever seen!!

Maddy doesn't own a printer anymore. Good effort though!Although, running while carrying a laptop probably isn't a GREAT idea.

Katie had the worst 5K she had ever done, but made up for it with this hilarious pictureSaluting? Actually, covering her nose from a horrible smell

Carrie is a VERY brave soul....She took an ice bath after her run! Cripes, not sure if I could ever do another one of those. Freezes my man bits RIGHT off

Kelly, AllieFay and Brandon had a snot contest in a richy richy neighborhood. Now, that is MY kind of race!

BitterHag Running posted a report that included lots of pictures of her dogs. Ummm, yup.

Mikey ran his as part of an icy 15 miler in the mtns of Colorado Springs. He certainly froze SOMETHING off

Christina was our official race photog at the in-person version. Fortunately, I was able to grab a picture of her putting a medal on a sweaty JeffG

Chicken went for a run with the dogs. Of course, like all dogs they HAD to be in on the action too. Hilarious!

Dina is in central Florida, so she didn't freeze ANYTHING off.She can hang out in "awesome weather land" with me while everyone hates us

Like I mentioned above, not only did Kate crawl over bridges, it looks like she also was getting ready to go spilunking?

Rachel ran an official 5K course that she found on Daily Mile. The hilarious part? It was on the Tabacco trail.

Local PHX runner Mike wasn't able to run the in person version because he had to run with his Team in Training group (he is the coach). That is just about the only excuse that I would accept.

X-Country^2 said that she kind of hates me because it is sunny and warm in Phoenix all the time. Yeah, I get that a lot. Lucky for me, she still went through many self-timer pictures pre-run.

Missy ran her virtual run as part of a real run - where there was a lack of port a potties. Of course, if you were part of the in-person race. You'd find that there were NO port a potties, so you wouldn't have to worry about it!

Girl Evolving AND her husband both ran the race together. It was his longest run in 3 months and......oh by the way they found a MOUSE in their house! I've done some research on this topic and I just have one thing to say - do NOT give it a cookie. That shit gets outta hand.

(Ok, I realize these are sideways.... They are showing upright in EVERY photo editing software I have. Help!)

Finally, it seems that every time I do one of my virtual races, there is ALWAYS a story that touches my heart and warms my soul to the joys of running. This time, the story was Melanie's. I couldn't tell her story like she can, so here it is in her own words:

My first 5k that I actually ran w/out stopping the whole way! Not the most impressive time, but for me it means the world! I had a lung collapse and broken arm last year, so getting back into the game has been difficult to say the least. Starting at ground zero is most humbling. You gave me the impetus to get out there and do it! It was somewhat chilly in Boston today so I sorta kinda did freeze my "thorns" off :) Tears of joy are splashing off my cheeks as I type this right now, because finishing this 5K in its entirety w/out stopping or walking once, was a goal I thought i'd never accomplish.

Legaleeeeese

This blog is meant for entertainment purposes only.For that matter, it even does that half-assed.I am happy to provide advice and tips, but have no technical "training" to provide medical or professional advice.So, ask away - I love to help.But, if you get hurt, can’t blame me!!